I finally decided to stop by my neighbor’s house this weekend and talk to him about my digital photography project. As I mentioned in a previous post, we usually wave hello to each other whenever we pass, but I was a little nervous because I had never really spoken with him and I was not sure how he would react to my request. I decided to bring some cookies along with me and thank him for taking care of my dog after he had escaped a few months ago. I also gave him a DVD of a documentary project I had recently made to show him the type of work I have done in the past. I figured that I should share a bit about myself since I was asking him to share a glimpse into his life.
It turns out that I have an incredibly interesting and friendly neighbor. His name is Harry and he has worked at the San Onofre nuclear power plant for over 29 years. Being that we just had a major power outage a few weeks ago, I had to ask about it. He mentioned that, like most of us, he had no power, but went on to explain some of the safety procedures at his job. After the incident in Japan I felt a little anxious about living so close to San Onfre, but I feel better knowing that there are measures in place to cope with emergencies.
In total, we spoke for about half an hour and I actually ended up helping him with something while we talked. He was moving his van from his driveway to his backyard to do some maintenance on it, but he had to drive it through a slim carport where there were only inches of room on each side. It was a definitely a tight squeeze (check out the pictures below). He also told me that he has been trying to use up all of his vacation days before he retires, which is why he has been working on his personal projects (cars, motorcycle, etc.). All in all, I am glad that I finally walked over and spoke with my neighbor and now friend Harry.
Sebastian Maselli 